Apparatus for winding thread



NOV- 26 1935- G. METCALFE `ET AL 2,022,379

APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREAD Filed March 8', 1954 Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert Wighton Moncrieff,

Spondon, 'near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application March 8, 1934, Serial No. 714,552 In Great Britain March 28, 1933 9 Claims.

This invention relates to thread winding mechanisms andmore particularly to winding apparatus for bobbins or like packages in which a thread or a number of threads are taken from a 5 package or from a number of packages or other source of supply and are wound on to a bobbin or other support rotated by a driving member carried by a shaft or spindle and adapted to engage a driven member connected to the bobbin or l other support. This type of winding apparatus has the great advantage that the thread upon the package is not engaged or touched in any manner by the bobbin rotating means, thus avoiding the risk of fraying or chang the yarn by rubbing. To wind successfully, however, it has hitherto been essential that the thread or threads proceeding to the winding apparatus should be quite free to proceed thereto, since if the thread is held or retarded even momentarily,

:o the continued rotation of the package strains or breaks the thread. This represents a serious limitation in the applicability of this type of winding apparat in textile operations, where it is frequently required to wind thread which is continuously delivered independently of the winding operation. In view, moreover, of the increase in package diameter which takes place as winding proceeds, the thread is liable to be wound under excessive and increasing tension, which may strain or eventually break it. 1

, The object of the present invention is to provide a bobbin-winding apparatus of the type mentioned, in which the winding rate is automatically adjusted in accordance with the rate of thread delivery without applying undue strain to the thread, when the delivery of the thread is reduced or even stopped.

With this object in view a bobbln winding apparatus according to the invention comprises a driving wheel, in frictional engagement with, and arranged co-axially with, a driving shaft, and adapted to engage at its periphery a driven member mounted upon the bobbin-supporting spindle so that on rotation of the driving wheel the bobbin is rotated and winds the thread proceeding to it. The amount of friction between the driving shaft and the driving wheel is such that the peripheral speed of the Winding bobbin can automatically adjust itself to the rate at which the thread is delivered to it.

The friction drive from the driving shaft to the driving wheel may be transmitted by means of a collar or disc fixed to the shaft and having a smooth side adapted to contact with a smooth annular surface formed in the side of the driving wheel. Means such as a. spring may be used 2o provide pressure between the contacting suraces.

One form of apparatus according to the invention will now be described in greater detail 5 with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows in part-sectional front elevation a winding device for the production of cylindrieally wound bobbins; 10

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically in front elevation a plurality of winding devices of the type shown in Fig. 1, while Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 a driving wheel 4, freely mounted on a driving shaft 5, engages at its periphery 6 a driven wheel 'I mounted upon and fixed to a spindle 8, which fits firmly in the bore of a bobbin 9 and rides at its extremities in slots 20 I0, II formed in supporting heads I2. 'I'he driving wheel 4 is formed on the one side with a raised annular surface I4, and on the other with a bush-like projection I5 which extends as a journal along the shaft 5 and is reduced in diam- 25 eter 'to form an annular shoulder I6.

. A collar I'I, secured to the shaft 5 by a set screw I 8, is formed with a raised annular surface I9 which ts iiush to the raised annular surface I4 of the driving wheel 4, the two surfaces being 30 pressed together by a. spring 20 which is compressed between the annular shoulder I6 of the bushing I5 and a second collar 2|, secured to the shaft 5 by a set screw 22. The collar 2| is adjustable lengthwise of the shaft 5 along the length 35 of a fiat 23 in order to allow of control of the force in -the spring 29, and consequently of the degree of friction between the opposing surfaces I4 and I9.

The driving wheel 4 is caused to rotate with 40 the shaft 5 by the frictional contact between the surfaces I4 and I9, and between the ends of the spring 20 and the collar 2| and the shoulders I6 of the bushing I5, respectively, and transmits drive from the shaft 5 through the driven wheel 'I 45 to the bobbin' 9. The right hand extremity of the spindle 8 is not supported from beneath, the slot II being deeper than the slot I0, in order that a large proportion of the combined weight of the driven wheel 1, spindle 8 and the bobbin 9 50 is supported directly by the driving wheel 4, to ensure non-slipping driving contact between the driving wheel and the driven wheel. 'I'he driven wheel 'I may be mad\of hard rubber, hard bre composition, lignum vitae or other hard material 55 having'a high coefficient of friction, and if desired the driving wheel 4 may have a covering such as leather, rubber or the like, in order to prevent slipping between the two members.

The drive of the wheel 4 being by friction, the peripheral speed of the Winding bobbin 9 can automatically adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to it. Thus, as the amount of thread on the bobbin 9 increases the bobbin develops-an increasing periphery, and consequently a tendency to increase the rate of take-up of the thread. This tendency is counter-balanced, however, by the driving wheel 4 slipping on the driving shaft 5. In this manner the rate of rotation of the driving Wheel A4 gradually decreases during the building of the thread on the bobbin.

The pressure between the friction surfaces is adjusted in accordance with the amount of tension which may safely be imparted to the thread, so that winding proceeds at the rate of thread delivery without danger of straining or breaking the thread. If the thread delivery vis retarded the driving wheel 4, which remains in contact with the driven wheel 1, slips on the driving shaft 5 while continuing to drive the bobbin 9 at a reduced speed, and if the thread delivery stops completely, the driving wheel 4 becomes stationary upon the driving shaft 5, which still rotates at its original speed. The driving shaft 5 is rotated so that the driving wheel 4 tends to be driven at a rate ensuring the bobbin periphery being rotated in excess of the normal rate of delivery of the thread. In this manner slack thread caused, for example, by piecing-up a new thread, or in starting-up the winding operation, is taken up by the package immediately.

The driving shaft 5 is drilled axially at 24 vto form a conduit which may supply any number of winding units with grease or other lubricant. As shown in Fig. 1 a bore 25 connects the conduit 24 to a slot 26 formed in the surface of the driving shaft 5 beneath the bushing l5. Lubricant from the conduit 24 is conducted through the bore 25 to the inside face of the bushing and lubricates the bearing surfaces of the bushing and the shaft. 'Ihe driving wheel 4 can thus slip freely on the shaft 5, the drive from the shaft to the wheel being transmitted through the contacting frictional surfaces, the pressure between which can be finely adjusted by varying the force in the spring 20 to ensure a very quick response to any change in tension in the thread being Wound. A cylindrical dust shield 21 surrounds the spring 20 and is secured by the screw 22 to the collar 2|.

It is to be understood, of course, that only a slight driving effort is necessary to rotate the wheels 4 and 1 and the bobbin 9, the effort being less than the maximum tension permissible in the thread. Therefore, on cessation or interruption of the thread feed, the pull of the thread acting at the periphery of the bobbin 9 overcomes the driving torque applied frictionally to the wheel 4. Winding takes place at substantially uniform tension throughout the building of the package whatever the rate of winding, and the danger of strain or breakage ofthe thread experlenced in ordinary positive winding apparatus is considerably lessened.

In order to make the winding device capable of use with very delicate threads thev driving wheel 4 may be of light construction, preferably being hollow as shown in Fig. 1. In this way the inertia of the wheel is considerably reduced.

Thread traversing means such as a guide eye 30 attached to a reciprocating rod 29 (see Fig. 3) is arranged to operate in close relation to the bobbin 9, or if desired, means such as those described in U. S. application S. No. 712,110 filed 5 February 20, 1934, corresponding to British application No. 7304/33 filed 10th March, 1933, may be used to guide a plurality of threads side by side on to the package.

The apparatus according to the invention is l0 suitable for applicationin a large number of textile operations; for example it may be used for winding artificial threads continuously with their production, e. g. continuously with the production of cellulose acetate threads or 15 filaments produced by the dry or evaporative method. It is also of great advantage where a plurality of ends ofthread are delivered from a common source and which are required to be wound on separate packages, and is particularly 20 suitable for use where a plurality of threads of artificial material have been subjected to mass I treatment, and are wound separately. Thus, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 a plurality of winding units are arranged to be driven from a common shaft 25 5, the ends of thread 28 (one shown) being traversed along the lengths of the winding bobbins 9 by the traverse rod 29 to which may be attached any number of guides 3U, the whole traversing unit being reciprocated by cam or crank means 30 (not shown). As examples of processes in which a plurality of winding units may be employed, may be mentioned the stretching of artificial threads etc. as described in British Patent No. 371,461 and U. S. application S. No. 656,514 led 35 11th February, 1933, wherein a plurality of threads stretched together while in warp form may be wound on to separate bobbins after stretching. A further example is the winding of artificial or other threads which have undergone 40 such treatments as sizing, saponications, or dyeing treatment in warp form and afterwards require to be wound on to bobbins. The winding apparatus above described enables each thread (or two or more threads together) to be rapidly 1,5 applied to the bobbin 9, and, the bobbin being slightly over-driven by the driving wheel 4, any slack formed in transferring a thread from the continually delivered warp sheet is quickly taken up, after which winding proceeds at exactly the 50 rate of delivery of the thread, so that the thread is evenly wound without danger of strain, slippage in the drive necessitated by the increase in. the package diameter being automatically effected by the frictionsi mounting or the driving 5 wheel.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or w like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a wheel fixed on said spindle, a driving wheel in driving connection with said spindle wheel, and frlctlonal means for rotating said driving wheel, said frictional means permitting the peripheral 65 speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin.

2. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle,

a wheel fixed on said spindle,`a rotatable shaft, a 70 driving wheel revolubly mounted on said shaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, and means making frictional driving contact between said shaft and said driving wheel, said frictional means permitting the peripheral speed 75 of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin.

3. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a wheel fixed on said spindle, a rotatable shaft, a driving wheel revolubly mounted on saidshaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, means making frictional driving contact between said shaft and said driving wheel, and means to adjust the amount of friction between the driving Wheel and the shaft.

4. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a Wheel fixed on said spindle, a rotatable shaft, a driving Wheel revolubly mounted on said shaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, a member with an annular surface rotatable with said shaft and disposed in contact with an annular surface on said driving wheel, and means to press said contacting surfaces together so that said shaft transmits to said driving wheel a torque which is limited to permit the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin.

5. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a wheel fixed on said spindle, a rotatable shaft, a driving wheel revolubly mounted on said shaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, a member with an annular surface rotatable with said shaft and disposed inucontact with an annular surface on said driving Wheel, means to press said contacting surfaces together so that said shaft transmits to said driving wheel a torque which is limited to permit the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin, and means for adjusting the degree of pressure between said surfaces so as to control the applied torque.

6. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a wheel ilxed on said spindle, a rotatable shaft, a driving wheel revolubly mounted on said shaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, a member with an annular surface rotatable with said shaft and disposed in contact with an annular surface on said driving wheel, spring means adapted to press said contacting surfaces together so that said shaft transmits to said driving wheel a torque which is limited to permit the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin, and means for adjusting the degree of pressure between said surfaces so as to control the applied torque. 5

7. In a. bobbin winding apparatus for threadl or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a Wheel fixed on said spindle, a rotatable shaft, a driving wheel journalled and freely rotatable about said shaft and in driving connection with said spindle wheel, means making frictional contact between said shaft and said driving Wheel adapted to transmit from said shaft to said driving wheel a torque which is limited to permit the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin, and means for lubricating the journal surface so as to allow of relative rotary motion between said shaft and said driving wheel. and at the same time to permit of sensitive adjustment of the torque applied from said shaft through said friction means to said driving wheel.

8. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a wheel fixed on said spindle, a driving wheel beneath said spindle wheel, journals for said spindle adapted to allow at least part of the Weight of said spindle and said spindle wheel to be borne by said driving Wheel so as to maintain driving connection between said wheels, and frictional means for rotating said driving wheel, said frictional means permitting the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin.

9. In a bobbin winding apparatus for thread or like material, a bobbin-supporting spindle, a Wheel fixed to said spindle near one end thereof,

a rotatable shaft disposed parallel to said bobbinsupporting spindle, a driving wheel revolubly mounted on said shaft and in driving connection o with said spindle wheel, and means making frictional driving contact between said shaft and said driving wheel, said frictional means permitting the peripheral speed of the bobbin to adjust itself to the rate at which thread is delivered to the bobbin.

GEORGE METCALFE. SIDNEY JAMES MENZER. l ROBERT WIGHTON MONCRIEFF. o 

